How Robin Wright became an ageless digital actress

This article was taken from the May 2014 issue of
Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print
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Fast-forward Stanislaw Lem's 1971 sci-fi novel The
Futurological Congress by 50 years, and you get The
Congress -- a colourful sci-fi satire tackling the
technological dominance of Hollywood.

Directed by Israeli screenwriter Ari Folman, The Congress has
actress Robin Wright (of House of Cards) offered a
once-in-a-lifetime deal: sell her image to a film studio, so it can
make movies starring her ageless digital avatar.

"I'm not technophobic, and I'm not trying to frame a scary movie
about where Hollywood is going," says Folman. "This is the world we
already live in." In February last year, Audrey Hepburn came back
to life to sell Galaxy chocolate. Even the digital facility in
southern California, where Robin Wright is scanned in the film, is
real. "It's called Light Stage 5," Folman explains. "If you look at
their demos, you'd never know it was scanned actors. The technology
has been here for a long time."

Folman, who made his name in 2008 with the technically striking
animation Waltz With Bashir, believes such technologies
will not just affect actors, but his own role as well. "Today, the
set is just a platform of blue screens and green screens, and the
written work is in action and animation and CGI," he says. "Maybe
we need different qualifications to be a director now."